So, I've been reading both posts by Darius Kazemi and Dustin Clingman, and they include some very interesting topics, some of which I have some insight to.
The IGDA, around 2009/2010 had some organizational changes. Jason Della Rocca, the Executive Director for the IGDA for a number of years1, was leaving, and the parent organization for the IGDA, CMP Media2 was, for all intents and purposes, letting the IGDA become it's own entity.3
Since the IGDA was going to be it's own fully autonomous organization, it also meant that it was open to interests who would try to influence the IGDA through various means, but usually, the people who were trying to influence it, were trying to do it for good.
In 2009, as Mr. Della Rocca was leaving, there was a request to sub-contract with a Montreal-based web developer to try and create a social network for game developers, using the igda.org domain name. While I understand the reason for it, I think it was a misguided attempt to try and jump on the social website craze.
In January of 2010, there was a call for people to help out with a new subcommittee for the website, dubbed the Technology Subcommittee. I volunteered for it, because of past experience with Drupal and as a web application engineer. It was during this year's GDC that the subcommittee was kickstarted, because of the introductions made to me by the departing Executive Director4 and Gordon Bellamy, the newly appointed Executive Director of the IGDA.
Darius was just elected to the Board of Directors, and I met up with him during BarCamp Orlando to discuss the website. I loved his idea, because ripping out the website, in favor of trying to put up a simple blog, would lead to starting to generate revenue, and build off of that. It could then plug into existing services (like Facebook and Twitter), and start bringing together our somewhat fragmented community.
The thing that killed that idea was when the other board members got involved and basically assigned me a project manager, with the expressed intent on trying to triage the website and get it working on either the same pair.com servers that has hosted the IGDA since the early 90s, or on some super fast new servers. However, when I asked about Darius' idea, it was denied. They said they wanted to try and leverage the current user database, and try to make something of it, before an outside contractor could come in to clean it up.
At the end of 2010, In the middle of a breakup, and after failing several classes due to increased pressure from the IGDA board to get the website up and running, I left the IGDA Technology Committee. Ever since that time, the IGDA has continued to act in this manner, leaving the website to languish in a … horrible and with constantly shifting management that only work for so long, before they have to go to another thing.
After I left the unpaid volunteer position, I was asked to speak at the IGDA Summit in Seattle, and I was informed, at that time, that the IGDA and the Board "hated me" for leaving the volunteer position. This is the thinking that is currently invading the IGDA. A volunteer shouldn't be hated for leaving, especially if they show a desire to return and come back to volunteer again. In no way should there be any sort of animosity toward anyone who is donating their time and services to your organization.
The Game Industry has continued to fragment and splinter to create hidden groups5, or sub-groups within groups. There isn't some sort of cohesive entity, because the IGDA doesn't have the strength in numbers that it used to. Kate Edwards, the current Executive Director, is awesome at what she does, but the Board of Directors should not try to usurp her resolve to drive membership and, ultimately, bring revenue to the IGDA. The website, it shouldn't be some overly complicated blog/mess of a project that is put together through a now 4 year long triage. If anything, the IGDA should consolidate what members they have, minimize their overhead, and pivot to an organization that people want to join.
Furthermore, the IGDA has continued to back initiatives, and parties, that have only further brought more segmentation to the industry6.
Personally, I love volunteering, but the experience with the IGDA has made me wanting to change the industry in different and more radical ways. The Game Industry needs to have an organization where people can feel compelled to volunteer, and help out, in any way possible.
When I started to volunteer around 2003/2004, Jason was still Executive Director for the IGDA. ↩
CMP is now known as UBM Tech Group. ↩
This is a very basic re-telling of this. ↩
Joshua Caufield was a brief Executive Director for the IGDA ↩
Though, some of these groups have existed since before the IGDA. ↩
This is from my own perspective, and from things I've seen with my own eyes. ↩
Posted on Friday September 6, 2013 at 03:01:36 pm